Waiting
by squonge
Summary: Sometimes waiting can be the hardest thing when you don't know what will be at the end of it all.
1. Too Late, Too Late

Disclaimer: All them characters and anything else that seems familiar I don't own, obviously. The one that does has much more money than I will ever see.

It's a first story here, so do you think you could be really nice and review? I'm sure I could use the pointers.

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'I insist you go home Molly, there is nothing more you can do here'

Dumbledore's words had been so cold when he had spoken to her, as cold as the eyes he looked at her with. The twinkle that seemed to always be there was gone as he handed her the bag with her son's belongings.

She had apparate to her home, the burrow, but it felt like another empty building to her. Arthur was handling much at the ministry, so much so that he was hardly home anymore now that Voldemort was back. George and Fred were abroad, spreading some much needed laughs wherever they went with their crazy products, trying to keep spirits up. Bill had gone to visit Charlie in Romania to assist him with recruiting wizards and witches that could help with the Order's efforts. Ron and Ginny were still both at Hogwarts, as there was nowhere safer, and to finish their education. And Percy. It was too much for her to handle, and she broke down and cried again, kneeling on the floor, face in her arms on the couch cushions.

She thought to herself, How did it come to this? Where did we go wrong? He was always ambitious, always wanted to be someone, but why did he chose to be one of them? Even Severus said he had tried to talk some reason into him, but he wouldn't listen.

Severus. She didn't know what to think about him now. Sure, he had tried to talk to him, and he was the one who had brought Percy back to them, but it was he, not Severus, who was now fighting for his life.

Gathering herself together, Molly got up and with the bag in hand went into the kitchen. She put a kettle on the stove, got a mug out of the cupboard, a spoon out of the drawer, and a tea bag out of the jar next to the sink. The kitchen sure seemed bigger when they're wasn't anyone else to fill it. The bag was placed on the table as she went about making her cup of tea. It was an everyday task, but her mind wasn't focused on what she was doing. She managed to overflow the mug with water when she was pouring it, and tried to spoon out the milk from its pitcher. When she had finally gotten herself a proper cup of tea, she took a seat at the table and opened the bag.

Inside was his wand, snapped in half. She started to cry again, cursing them for putting such a thing in the bag. 'Why,' she cried to no one in particular, 'what use is it now?' From her mug, she took a sip, only to spit it back out. She had left the tea bag in too long, making it very bitter. It was removed immediately, hitting the sink with a splat, and replaced by lots of sugar to counter the bitter taste.

She set the wand aside. A new one could be made for him with the old core. She would have to make a visit to Diagon Ally soon so he could have his wand back as soon as he was better. She pulled his black robe from the bag, blood-stained with four holes on the left arm. A shiver passed through her. Oh Percy, she thought, you'll be okay, you just have to be.

For some time she just sat there, garment in hand. Remus had apparated at some point, but nothing around her had any effect. It wasn't till he sat down beside her with two fresh cups of tea that she noticed his presence. And they sat there in silence, him taking a sip here and there, while her tea was untouched yet again.

'Molly,' he said. She didn't remove her gaze from the robe, but he knew she wasn't really looking at it anymore. 'It's not your fault, Molly, you raised him well. He just fell in with the wrong crowd, that's all.'

She got up and went upstairs, leaving him at the table without saying a word. Remus wondered if he could have said it another way, or said something else. Too late for that now, he thought as he took another sip of his tea.

She materialized back downstairs not long after she had left. In her hand she had a few scraps of black fabric. She took her seat at the table again and held each scrap of fabric to compare with that of the colour of the robe. The first was too faded. It wouldn't do, Molly thought, it has to be a perfect match so the patch won't be too noticeable. Her second choice turned out to be more of a blue colour. Nope, that defiantly won't do, she thought.

As each scrap was compared, Remus was left sitting at the table, quite confused. It appeared to him that she was going to attempt to repair the cursed robes that had caused this problem in the first place. If he had never joined them, he thought, if he had never put those robes on, there wouldn't be holes in it, and he wouldn't be fighting for his life right now.

'Remus,' she said to him, 'will he make it?'

He looked up to meet her tear-stained eyes, not knowing what to say. 'We are all hoping for the best, Molly,' he replied. For a moment they just kept looking at each other. He could see tears forming in her eyes again, but she looked away and wiped them up as she went back to the robes.

'He is a determined person,' she told Remus. 'If anyone will make it through, it will be my son.' Finding the perfect match in her scraps of fabric, she began to carefully repair the hole in her son's robes. She moved her wand slowly as she went, not wanting to make a mistake. It has to look like nothing even happened to them, she thought to herself, fix them so they are back to the way they were before.

As she worked, Remus helped himself to more tea. He watched her put so much care in to the repair. So much so, that when she was done, the patches were hardly noticeable. She gathered the robes in her arms and held them to her face, as one would a small child.

A popping noise was heard from the living room, followed by a voice that undoubtedly belonged to the old headmaster. 'Molly...'


	2. The Outlaw Torn

I got reviews, yay! -hugs them all- Here's chapter two, which came to me around 12:30 last night, but I'm not too picky about that. I welcome ideas anytime!

This chapter takes place before the last one, and I'm telling you that now, so don't complain that you're confused. The rest of the story will be backwards as well, so by the end of it you can read from last chapter to first to get the story straight. But that's no fun. Backwards stories are designed that way, so you should read them that way.

As always, I want some pointers and such. So if you'd be so kind as to review, I'd love ya (but in the non-emotional way).

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It was past midnight when Severus Snape barged in the front doors of Hogwarts school. There was a look of utmost fear and worry on his face as he carried a deathly limp body awkwardly in his arms. The face was very pale, seemingly even more so against the brightness of it's red hair. 

At once the headmaster was with him, inquiring about the events which had taken place. 'He needs immediate attention, Severus. Get him to Poppy and Lydia as fast as your feet can take you. Tell them everything they need to know.

And with that said, he was alone again. He always worked alone, for his own safety and of those that would try to help, but this time he would have appreciated some assistance. He technically wasn't alone, he had the Weasley in his arms. But he wasn't helping Severus carry himself up the stairs to the hospital wing. It seemed no one was up, but this was much for the better. During the day, the stairs would move to confuse and tease the students, but at night they stayed put, for they knew the teachers would not be amused by their trick.

When he reached the hospital wing, he found the school's nurse, Poppy, and the healer, Lydia, already awake and ready for their patient. They must have been awakened by an alarm from Albus, he thought as he laid the young man down on the bed.

As Lydia went about undressing and assessing the damage done, Severus filled Poppy in with as much as he knew of what happened. 'it was that snake of His,' he said to her. 'It bite him on the arm there, went straight through. I gave him the strongest antidote I had on me, but only to buy some time for proper attention.'

As poppy went about getting what she needed from her stores, the door burst open. A panic-stricken Molly entered followed closely by a worried looking Dumbledore. With this, Lydia closed the curtain around the young man, blocking his sickly form from his mother. 'We need to work fast here,' came her voice from the other side. 'No visitors.'

Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have this. 'He's my son,' she cried. 'Why won't you let me see him? Percy!'

'Molly,' replied Severus, 'Percy has a rather nasty snake bite. You remember when it happened to Arthur, don't you? Lydia is a trained Healer, but she has to work fast and without interruption. Arthur was able to go to St. Mungo's for treatment, and was seen by many trained healers. Percy can't do that. He would be left for dead as soon as they saw that mark on his arm, or if he wasn't going to die shipped off to Azkaban where he would most likely. Let Lydia and Poppy work and do as they say.'

She put her head in her hands and wept uncontrollably. Albus lead her to a chair where she could sit away from what was causing this. She was talking to herself it seemed, with a few phrases here and there understandable. 'Why him?' 'I should have done more.'

Poppy's head poked out from between the curtains. 'Albus,' she said, 'can I see you here, please?' She then went back behind the curtain.

He got up and went to where her head had been only moments before. He slipped inside, and was greeted by the sight of a sickly still Percy, his face pale as the white sheets he lay on. 'Can I be of some assistance?'

Lydia was still hard at work, applying something to the wound, forcing potions down his throat. 'It doesn't look good, Albus,' Poppy said in a hushed voice to him as she stood beside the bed. 'We have to draw the poison out of his blood, while at the same time replenish what he has already lost. The bones in his arm need healing, but that's the least of our worries. His body temperature is extremely high, and his heart isn't taking the poison very well. And anything we have tried to give him so far has had no effect. What kind of poison is this?'

'A rather unknown one,' came Lydia's voice, but she did not take her gaze from her patient. 'These snakes are not very common, even among dark wizards. Very hard to control.' She applied a strange purple liquid to Percy's wound, but it seemed to turn to water as soon as it was applied. 'Nope, that one won't work either.'

Albus let out a sigh. 'Well, I know you two will do you bests. Is there anything I, or perhaps Severus, could assist with?'

Poppy reached down and picked up a bag beside her. 'First thing you can do,' she said as she walked towards him, 'is sent Mrs. Weasley home. There isn't anything she can do here, Albus.' She placed the bag in his arms and went back to her work.

When he exited, he found a somewhat calmer, but still upset Molly listening to Severus. '...tried my best Molly. I honestly did.'

'I know you did, Sev, more than we could ever have asked. And I think you did get through to him, just too late... it was too late.'

Dumbledore watched the two for a moment. They worked so hard together for the Order, and with everyone else. Severus more reluctantly, but he always did what was best. And now he would have to separate them.

They looked up when he came to stand near them. He gave the bag to her, which she accepted someone hesitantly.

'I insist you go home Molly, there is nothing more you can do here.'


End file.
